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Category - Runway/Ramp

Pilots flying into Orlando International Airport (MCO) are noticing brighter, crisper lighting on one of Florida's busiest arrival runways, and the airport itself is seeing dramatically lower energy bills. The changes began in June, when MCO finished a $14 million renovation of Runway 18R-36L and its associated taxiways.

Southern California's John Wayne Airport (SNA) recently renumbered its two runways - without shutting down airfield services - thanks to coordinated efforts by airport officials, the FAA and outside contractors. Outwardly the change occurred overnight; but it had actually been in the works for years.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) celebrated the completion of a colossal, long-range airfield initiative in mid-September. The $791 million project created South Runway 10R-28L by extending, shifting and lengthening the former 9R-27L from 5,276 feet to 8,000 feet. The new runway rises from grade-level on the west end to roughly 60 feet in the air on the east end, spanning a railway line and federal highway in between.

Something special occurs as passengers gaze out the aircraft window when landing at their destination and taxiing to the terminal. An inherent optimism and enthusiasm about things to come takes over visitors, and the warm embrace of returning home floods locals.

Stretching for a full 14,000 feet (4,270 meters), the new parallel runway at Calgary International Airport (YYC) in Alberta is the longest runway in Canada. But Runway 17L-35R is just one component in YYC's $620 million Runway Development Project (RDP). Other key elements include four taxiways, a concrete apron and two underpasses. Putting it modestly, the airport's RDP has been a major undertaking. After a year of design and three years in construction, Runway 17L-35R opened in late June.

For years, tenants and transient pilots alike "made due" with Runway 14-32 at Nashua Airport - Boire Field (ASH) in New Hampshire. At 5,500 feet long, the airport's sole runway was simply too short for some jets. In addition, it hadn't been repaved since 1987 and was crowded by an adjacent taxiway.

If airfields were buildings, there's little doubt that the new replacement runway at Port Columbus International Airport (CMH) would be a shoo-in for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S.Green Building Council.

No one at Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC) can recall ever having to close the vital Alaskan airport because of snow or ice. Once, yes, because of winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, and once due to volcanic ash from Mount Redoubt; but no one remembers a snow or ice closure.

It's almost as if Indianapolis International Airport (IND) was tipped off that this would be a particularly harsh winter in the Midwest. Last summer, the airport completely revised its winter operations by implementing new procedures, taking delivery of millions of dollars in new snow removal equipment and presenting a new curriculum of crew training.

The $9 million rehabilitation of the sole runway at Huntington Tri-State Airport (HTS) in West Virginia was completed without any big surprises - just the way Airport Director Jerry Brienza likes it. The airport's airlines and cargo operator agreed to a single weekend shutdown; various contractors and crews finished multiple stages on time; and even the weather cooperated.

The recent $8 million reconstruction of the general aviation runway at Snohomish County Airport, aka Paine Field (PAE), is not the facility's largest project by a long shot, but it was important nevertheless.
Located about 30 miles north of Seattle in Everett, WA, the airport houses flight departments for the Boeing Company and a number of its key subcontractors. But 650 other entities and individuals base aircraft there as well.

Airmen and civilians flying aircraft into Joint Base Charleston via Runway 15-33 have had smoother landings since the rehabilitated runway opened in August. The main 9,000-foot runway, owned by the U.S. Air Force, serves both the 437th Airlift Wing and Charleston International Airport (CHS).

Jim Hanson's Depression-era parents often reminded him to: "Use it up; wear it out; make it work." And for years, that's just what he did as manager of Albert Lea Municipal Airport (AEL), a city-owned facility in south central Minnesota.

Located midway between Walt Disney World and Daytona Beach, Florida's Orlando-Sanford International Airport (SFB) has carved a niche for itself as the popular tourist area's secondary commercial airport. Although tourism-driven passenger traffic accounts for much of its volume, additional traffic from local flight academies, plus significant domestic, international, charter and freight operations, helped SFB rank as the third busiest airport in Florida and the 25th busiest in the country in 2012, as measured by flight operations.

Runway 4R-22L serves a special role at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). At 12,000 feet long, it's the only runway that allows a fully loaded 747 or 777 to depart and fly nonstop to Asian destinations during the warm summer months. As such, 4R-22L is a key element in the airport's role as Delta Air Lines' Asian hub.

Most airport executives agree that dealing with governmental bureaucracy is the most frustrating aspect of their job. Between local, state and federal requirements, vital projects can take months, even years, to get approved, not to mention up and running.

Before the world's best golfers hit the well-manicured fairways at Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters Tournament each year, many fly into the well-maintained Augusta Regional Airport (AGS). This year, its runways were in especially good shape for the April event, because the east Georgia airport had just completed renovating its 8,000-foot primary runway a few months earlier.

Long before football fans knew it would be the Ravens and 49ers facing off at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, the FAA and New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NEW) began preparing for the increased air traffic the big game would bring. In early 2012, the FAA sent its Super Bowl team to scout the airport that would support general aviation traffic for the February 2013 event.

Located 9,070 feet above sea level at the top of the Deep Creek Mesa, Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) in Colorado is the highest commercial airport in United States. Thanks to a $50 million, multi-phase runway and airfield improvement project, operations there are safer than ever as the airport prepares for measured growth.

Facing the prospect of a protracted runway reconstruction schedule with multi-year FAA funding installments, Tulsa International Airport (TUL) has taken the financing road less traveled by obtaining a $14.6 million bank loan. As a result, it expects to save millions of dollars and compress the schedule for the remaining portions of the project by three to four years.

"Asphalt is like skin," says Tom O'Donnell, an engineer from Kimley-Horn & Associates. "After time and wear, it shows its age. If you get to the cracks early enough, however, you save a lot of money."
Naples Municipal Airport (APF) in Florida tended to its cracks in 2010, after officials learned its primary and longest runway, 5/23, needed serious work.

With a cargo bay large enough to carry six Apache helicopters or five Bradley tanks, the C-5 is a massive aircraft. And it took a massive runway conversion to allow joint-use Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport (MRB) to accommodate the military behemoth.

Runway 18-36 at Collin County Regional Airport (TKI) is more than a new takeoff and landing surface. It's the centerpiece of $43.4 million in recent airfield improvements and a concrete example of local optimism and support for the North Texas general aviation airport.

Airport Improvement

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